Field of Technology
This relates to ballast and bases, and more particularly to support of entertainment oriented rigging and outdoor structures, as well as any temporary structures using theatrical trusses.
Background
Temporary Structures are an increasing part of the special event, live event and television industry. These structures need to overcome several engineering hurdles to accomplish the visions or technical requirements of the overall event design. One of the tools used to overcome these obstacles is Ballast. Ballast can be used in several different ways to offer stability to a structure. Ballast can be used to prevent uplift, sliding, axial loading, or overturning to name a few. Connection to the Ballast can be done in many ways but it must be a secure connection. Connections at the bottom of a tower often are made in the form of a Spigot connection or Bolted connection through the end plates of the tower itself. These connection points offer little or no adjustment and therefore the base must be placed in a predetermined position with extreme accuracy. The placement accuracy is most critical when two or more towers are connected by a horizontal span. Gaining exact placement with a 1,000 lbs or greater base is a slow and tedious process. Time is a critical factor in the entertainment construction process and a great amount of time can be lost with measuring and placing of heavy bases.
There are two products currently on the market. The first and most closely related is the G-Block. The G-block from Gallagher Staging is used as a base for aluminum stage trussing. The G-block is a steel box that has multiple bolt hole locations for attaching aluminum stage trusses. The G-block has fixed locations of the bolt holes. G-blocks work well when connecting a single tower. However, the weight of the G-block makes it hard to position accurately and therefore when connecting more than one G-block to an aluminum truss structure using the G-block becomes very cumbersome and time consuming. The G-block is available in a few different sizes; the different sizes allow the G-block to offer different weight options. However, this makes it hard to pre-plan for onsite changes or adjustments to plan. The choice that is often made well in advance of delivery is the size and weight available on site. The only option to increase weight is to change out the base, which is seldom achievable, or add more G-blocks, which increases event costs and introducing time consuming difficult configurations.
The other competitive item on the market today is ballast offered by Stage-CMDR. These ballasts are very like the G-Block however they offer fewer locations to connect truss. The reduced amount of truss attachment locations makes this ballast even harder to use than the G-block.
Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,396 “Bed Structure for Supporting Engines and Auxiliary Objects” (Mansson, Feb. 4, 1992) discloses, in the Abstract, “The invention relates to a bed structure for supporting driving and driven units, such as internal combustion engines and generators for instance. The bed structure comprises a first frame section which serves as a transport frame and bed for the engine, and a second frame section which can be moved between a retracted transport position and an extended position in which it serves as a bed for an auxiliary unit, such as a generator.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,207 “Supports for Transformers or Other Equipment” (Hagenhoff et al., Nov. 10, 1998) discloses, in the Abstract, “A support or pad for equipment, especially electrical transformers, is disclosed. The pad is designed to permit multi-directional access to its underside; consequently, it need not be positioned specially once a transformer is mounted to it, but rather is accessible in almost any upright orientation to the tines of a fork-lift truck. In some embodiments the tine-receiving recesses do not abut an opening for electrical cables attached to the transformer, the opening instead being bordered by sections of the full depth of the pad. The multiple recesses of the pad thus fail to communicate with the opening, blocking any path along the underside from the periphery of the pad to the cable opening itself.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,413 “Apparatus and Method for Moveable Lighting” (Crookham et al., Aug. 31, 1999) discloses, in the Abstract, “An apparatus and method for moveable lighting of large areas includes moveable bases upon which can be mounted light poles and light fixtures that elevate lights to a substantially high level. Each base has a size and mass that allows the pole and light fixture(s) to freely stand, including against normal environmental conditions without tipping. The base can be moved from location to location and transported with conventional equipment eliminating dedicated trailers or trucks and eliminating a substantial labor and time to erect portable tower.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,468 B1 Mounting Pad Apparatus for Supporting and Moving an Electrical Power Transformer While Positioned Theron (Robert R. Schlegel, Cranbury, N.J. (US) Feb. 13, 2001) discloses, in the Abstract, “An improved mounting pad apparatus is disclosed made of a plastic material for supporting an electrical power transformer and maintaining it spaced from the surrounding ambient ground environment which is usually turf. The mounting pad is formed of a load supporting deck positioned upon a cellular subframework with side walls extending therearound and a base flange extending outwardly therefrom for stability. One more rigid bars are selectively positionable within various slots defined in the cellular subframework for strengthening and stiffening thereof in various orientations. These rigid bars can extend parallel or perpendicular with respect to one another for various applications where different types of strengthening parameters are required. The cellular subframework also selectively can define a plurality of forklifting slots which can extend therethrough and through the side walls to facilitate lifting and movement of the mounting pad apparatus even with a normally quite heavy electrical power transformer positioned thereon. Multiple forklifting slots can be defined by the cellular subframework at various orientations with respect to one another to facilitate use thereof in relatively inaccessible locations.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,196 B1 Apparatus and Method for a Temporary Spread Footing (Joe P. Crookham, Oskaloosa, Iowa (US); David M. Crookham, Oskaloosa, Iowa (US); James A. Whitson, Oskaloosa, Iowa (US); Thomas A. Stone, University Park, Iowa (US); Gregory N. Kubbe, Ottumwa, Iowa (US); Walter R. Tippett, Oskaloosa, Iowa (US) Oct. 15, 2002) discloses, in the Abstract, “An apparatus and method for providing a temporary spread footing for supporting a variety of different vertically extending structures. The apparatus includes a frame with a top and bottom. The frame can have a substantial space or void in between the top and bottom into which weights or devices can be placed. A connection on top of the base removably connects to the structure to be supported. Outriggers could also be used to substantially increase the overturning moment resistance of the base. The outriggers can be removable or retractable so that for transportation, the base has minimum dimensions. The method includes predetermining the needed weight and overturning moment resistance for a particular application and transporting the base to the site and thereafter adding weight and adjusting outriggers to match the pre-determined needed overturning moment resistance.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,543,793 B2 Generator Set Tank and Enclosure with Adjustable Mounting System (Wayne A. Graham, S80 W20570 Tyler Dr., Muskego, Wis. (US) 53150; Jeremy Zurich, 1216 Memorial Dr., Apt. 14, Milwaukee, Wis. (US) 53217; David Kranz, 401 Cambridge St., Waukesha, Wis. (US) 53188 Jun. 9, 2009) discloses, in the Abstract, “The present invention is a generator set tank and enclosure that includes a number of adjustable generator support assemblies that enable the tank and enclosure to be configured for use with generators of various sizes. The support assemblies include mounting channels configured to be secured to the tank in a variety of locations, and each channel includes a number of support platforms therein which can be adjustably positioned on the channels to further adjust the configuration of the support assemblies. Also, the tank and enclosure are configured with multiple fittings, attachments, and access points in order to enable both the tank and enclosure to be fully customizable for use with generators of various sizes.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,789,987 B2 Base for Masts (Jiirgen Nolle, Rheinberg (DE) Jul. 29, 2014) discloses, in the Abstract, “The invention relates to a base (1), in particular for light masts, comprising a housing (7) with a base surface (10) which can be filled with a medium. In order to ensure improved stability and to avoid additional grounding measures, an embodiment is chosen according to the invention in which the housing (7) is not electrically conductive and has a holding opening (21) for a mast (2) which is not round and is composed of non-conductive material. In this case, a mast (2) which is not round avoids lateral inclination of the mast (2), thus making it possible to ensure secure installation.”
U.S. Patent Application Publication Pub. No.: US 2015/0023017 A1 Light Tower (Paul S. Smith, Drayton Valley (CA); Danny S. Smith, Drayton Valley (CA); Gregory A. Hartman, Drayton Valley (CA) Jan. 22, 2015) discloses, in the Abstract, “A portable, low-energy light tower to provide high, bright light having ground-engaging elements, a telescoping mast secured to the base and the mast having a pivot, the telescoping mast being rotatable about the pivot between a transport position and an operating position, and LED lighting elements at the top end of the telescoping mast. An electrically operated linear actuator mounted on the telescoping mast extends and retracts the telescoping mast through a system of cables and pulleys.”
U. S. Patent Application Publication Pub. No.: US 2016/0258601 A1 (Matthew GOWANLOCK, Airdrie (CA) Sep. 8, 2016) discloses, in the Abstract, “A portable lighting system for a drilling rig. The lighting system is designed to withstand the difficult and extreme weather conditions typically experienced in drilling rig environments. The pulley and slider arraignments are designed for minimal friction. The overall pulley design for the lifting of the unit (for, example, the way the cables are orientated) is extremely robust. The outrigger design include fold out and lock in place. The power source can run a duel transfer switch setup powered by an external supply (like the rig power) or from its own 100% backed up generator. Lighting is the lightest and brightest available. Tower is skid mounted and mobile with the use of a truck. Top light banks swivel and tilt.”
None of the above provides a base with 1) easily adjustable ballast, 2) easily adjustable attachment to theatrical or temporary truss structures, and 3) efficient installation and position adjustability. What is needed, therefore, is a product that overcomes the above-mentioned limitations and that includes the features enumerated above.